Ben Murray-Bruce Urges Tinubu To Appoint More ‘Mad Men’ To Fix Nigeria

Ben Murray-Bruce Urges Tinubu to Appoint More ‘Mad Men’ to Fix Nigeria Former senator Ben Murray-Bruce has urged President Bola Tinubu to appoint more “mad men” to his administration individuals he described as bold, results-driven officials willing to challenge entrenched interests and confront Nigeria’s inefficient systems.

Murray-Bruce made the call in an open letter to Tinubu published on his X account, stressing that supporting the administration should not prevent him from criticising its policies or offering suggestions for improvement. By “mad men,” the former lawmaker said he meant men and women who are willing to “confront a broken system, step on powerful toes, offend entrenched interests and refuse to accept mediocrity. Murray-Bruce pointed to Central Bank Governor Olayemi Cardoso and National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu as examples of officials who, in his view, have demonstrated the determination needed to tackle difficult national challenges. He said the two officials were not enough for a country of more than 200 million people and urged Tinubu to find more people with similar drive and willingness to deliver measurable results. The former senator specifically called for more decisive action in the petroleum sector, urging the President to make the rehabilitation and commercially viable operation of the Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna refineries a national priority. He argued that Nigerians had heard enough explanations about turnaround maintenance, contractors and technical reviews and now wanted functioning refineries producing petroleum products. Murray-Bruce also suggested that the three government-owned refineries should target a combined reliable throughput equivalent to at least 50 per cent of the Dangote Refinery’s 650,000 barrels-per-day nameplate capacity about 325,000 barrels per day. He further challenged the administration to appoint someone capable of aggressively pursuing its ambition of increasing Nigeria’s crude oil production to four million barrels per day by 2030. Rather than another committee or official focused on explaining why targets cannot be achieved, Murray-Bruce said Tinubu needs someone prepared to take responsibility for delivering the target. He also called on the President to demand measurable results from ministers, regulators, agency heads and other political appointees overseeing critical sectors. Murray-Bruce’s intervention highlights growing pressure on the Tinubu administration to move beyond policy announcements and demonstrate tangible results in areas such as energy, oil production, security and economic management.Murray-Bruce is asking Tinubu to surround himself with officials willing to take difficult decisions, challenge powerful interests and deliver results his “mad men” approach to fixing Nigeria’s most persistent problems.